The chemistry of silylated sulfuric acid, O2 S(OSiMe3 )2 (T2 SO4 , T=Me3 Si; also known as bis(trimethylsilyl) sulfate), has been studied in detail with the aim of synthesizing the formal autosilylation products of silylated sulfuric acid, [T3 SO4 ]+ and [TSO4 ]- , in analogy to the known protonated species, [H3 SO4 ]+ and [HSO4 ]- . The synthesis of the [TSO4 ]- ion only succeeds when a base, such as OPMe3 that forms a weakly coordinating cation upon silylation, is reacted with T2 SO4 , resulting in the formation of [Me3 POT]+ [TSO4 ]- . [T3 SO4 ]+ salts could be isolated starting from T2 SO4 in the reaction with [T-H-T]+ [B(C6 F5 )4 ]- or T+ [CHB11 Br6 H5 ]- when a weakly coordinating anion is used as counterion. All silylated compounds could be crystallized and structurally characterized.Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic lung disease of unknown etiology with minimal treatment options. Repetitive alveolar epithelial injury has been suggested as one of the causative mechanisms of this disease. Type 2 alveolar epithelial cells (AEC2) play a crucial role during fibrosis by functioning as stem cells able to repair epithelial damage. The DNA demethylase Tet methylcytosine dioxygenase 2 (TET2) regulates the stemness of multiple types of stem cells, but whether it also affects the stemness of AEC2 during fibrosis remains elusive. To study the role of TET2 in AEC2 during fibrosis, we first determined TET2 protein levels in the lungs of IPF patients and compared TET2 expression in AEC2 of IPF patients and controls using publicly available data sets. Subsequently, pulmonary fibrosis was induced by the intranasal administration of bleomycin to wild-type and AEC2-specific TET2 knockout mice to determine the role of TET2 in vivo. Fibrosis was assessed by hydroxyproline analysis and fibrotic gene expression. Additionally, macrophage recruitment and activation, and epithelial injury were analyzed. TET2 protein levels and gene expression were downregulated in IPF lungs and AEC2, respectively. Bleomycin inoculation induced a robust fibrotic response as indicated by increased hydroxyproline levels and increased expression of pro-fibrotic genes. Additionally, increased macrophage recruitment and both M1 and M2 activation were observed. None of these parameters were, however, affected by AEC2-specific TET2 deficiency. TET2 expression is reduced in IPF, but the absence of TET2 in AEC2 cells does not affect the development of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis.The electroreduction of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) has been emerging as a high- potential approach for CO2 utilization using renewables. When copper (Cu) based catalysts are used, this platform can produce multi-carbon (C2+ ) fuels and chemicals with almost net-zero emission, contributing to the closure of the anthropogenic carbon cycle. Nonetheless, the rational design and development of Cu-based catalysts are critical toward the realization of highly selective and efficient CO2 electroreduction. In this review, first the latest advances in Cu-catalyzed CO2 electroreduction in the product selectivity and electrocatalytic activity are briefly summarized. Then, recent theoretical and mechanistic studies of CO2 electroreduction on Cu-based catalysts are investigated, which serve as programs to design catalysts. Strategies for devising Cu catalysts that aim at promoting different key elementary steps for hydrocarbon and C2+ oxygenates production are further summarized. Moreover, challenges in understanding the mechanism, operando investigation of Cu catalysts and reactions, and systems' influences are also presented. Finally, the future prospects of CO2 electroreduction are discussed.Alicyclobacillus species inhabit diverse environments and have adapted to broad ranges of pH and temperature. However, their adaptive evolutions remain elusive, especially regarding the role of mobile genetic elements (MGEs). Here, we characterized the distributions and functions of MGEs in Alicyclobacillus species across five environments, including acid mine drainage (AMD), beverages, hot springs, sediments, and soils. Nine Alicyclobacillus strains were isolated from AMD and possessed larger genome sizes and more genes than those from other environments. Four AMD strains evolved to be mixotrophic and fell into distinctive clusters in phylogenetic tree. Four types of MGEs including genomic island (GI), insertion sequence (IS), prophage, and integrative and conjugative element (ICE) were widely distributed in Alicyclobacillus species. Further, AMD strains did not possess CRISPR-Cas systems, but had more GI, IS, and ICE, as well as more MGE-associated genes involved in the oxidation of iron and sulfide and the resistance of heavy metal and low temperature. These findings highlight the differences in phenotypes and genotypes between strains isolated from AMD and other environments and the important role of MGEs in rapid environment niche expansions.Deciphering protein-protein interactions is a critical step in the identification and the understanding of biological mechanisms deployed by pathogenic bacteria. The development of in vivo technologies to characterize these interactions is still in its infancy, especially for bacteria whose subcellular organization is particularly complex, such as mycobacteria. In this work, we used the proximity-dependent biotin identification (BioID) to define the mycobacterial heparin-binding hemagglutinin (HbhA) interactome in the saprophytic bacterium Mycobacterium smegmatis. M. smegmatis is a commonly used model to study and characterize the physiology of pathogenic mycobacteria, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Here, we adapted the BioID technology to in vivo protein-protein interactions studies in M. smegmatis, which presents several advantages, such as maintaining the complex organization of the mycomembrane, offering the possibility to study membrane or cell wall-associated proteins, including HbhA, in the presence of cofactors and post-translational modifications, such as the complex methylation pattern of HbhA. Using this technology, we found that HbhA is interconnected with cholesterol degradation and heme/iron pathways. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/tat-beclin-1-tat-becn1.html These results are in line with previous studies showing the dual localization of HbhA, associated with the cell wall and intracytoplasmic lipid inclusions, and its induction under high iron growth conditions.